Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

No. I leave that to you, Senator Hanson-Young. It is not a perfect act. That is why we have brought forward a very substantial bill to amend it. But there are a couple of key areas where the opposition has moved amendments to its own act. When this comes back from the lower house it will be a test of Mr Turnbull’s leadership. It will be a test of whether those in the opposition who have professed concern on these issues are actually able to stand up to those also on that side who do not want water purchases and who want to continue to oppose it. It will be a test of Mr Turnbull’s leadership as to whether or not those extreme elements inside the coalition will scuttle a piece of legislation that is so important.

I accept that there are differences of views about whether this bill goes as far as people want. There are differences of views from Senator Xenophon and from the Greens, and a different set of differences of views at times from the Nationals and the Liberal Party. But, ultimately, when this comes back from the lower house the test will be whether you are prepared to back genuine reform or whether you are prepared to scuttle it in the interests of playing politics. I would suggest that that latter path will really demonstrate that what you say and what you do are poles apart.